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What women want?

The so-called Titanic effect is breathing box-office life into the theatre these days, as various shows cater not just to women, but specifically to those adolescent girls (and early-twentysomethings) who know what they like and are prepared to shell out for it. Wait a minute, I hear you ask: how many 18-year-olds of either gender can afford £55 or £60 for a good West End seat? Well, it’s no more than for a premium pop concert, not to mention a night on the town. Small wonder the Reese Witherspoon film Legally Blonde is just one of a series of femme-friendly titles heading to the Broadway stage: you don’t put teenage girls in a corner! Dirty Dancing (below), at the Aldwych, is attracting women of all ages, thanks in part to its leading man, Josef Brown, who offers West End theatre-goers a rarely seen slab of hetero beefcake. “Josef is that